Kadoka High School

Kadoka, South Dakota

Teacher:  Teresa Shuck

Government As Regulator

By:  Colleen Vander May

11^th grade

            The government is very important today.  I know it has always been important, but if you think about all the violence people try to get away with today, it plays a major role.  The government handles holiday events, transportation, runs business checks, and protects the society.  Government regulation is a must these days, because with all the technology of the Internet any little thing can slip by.  People are not as innocent as they used to be.  There are more and more people trying to destroy America.  The government works hard to prevent dangerous people from getting onto subways, boarding planes, and so forth.  These few reasons show why government regulation is needed.

            Addressing the issue again with the planes, planes are a way for Americans and foreigners to travel.  People should be able to travel without a worry or fear of danger.  The government needs to up the protection even more with air travel. 

            The waste law the government issued isn’t right.  Trash is trash.  The smaller companies dump less solid and less liquid wastes in a year than the larger factories and businesses.  Nothing could be truer.  Within ten years, the amount of waste from the smaller businesses adds up to be a lot.  No matter how much waste you have, the government should still come through and clean up the waste of the company.

            There are jobs that require lifting heavy objects in weird positions, or require doing specific tasks that put some people in pain.  One very good example of this is cargo handlers.  They bend over and carry loads all day long; it’s their job.  They do not ask for pity, but the government should do a better job of protecting them from injuries or disabilities from doing such tasks. 

            The government regulates some of the less critical situations in America too much.  It is ridiculous that a little child cannot have a cookie or lemonade stand in their yard.  The government comes by and shuts them down for not having a retail license.  They aren’t trying to get rich at that young of an age.  They want to feel important and just do it for fun mostly.  They are offering a snack to others.  The child can set it up and take donations, but not charge.  They make more from donations anyways.  The government should weaken that regulatory act.

            Everyone loves entertainment.  Everyone has his or her own way of fun.  Bungee jumping, roller-blading, even hopscotch.  Nearly everyone has played hopscotch before.  Roller-blading is practically harmless.  People should bungee-jump at their own risk, because there is danger in that form of entertainment.  The government is trying to restrict people enjoying these forms of fun.  People should be able to do these without the government regulating how and when they can enjoy the activities.

            The government puts forth a lot of effort in order to make it safe and befitting to live today.  The experiments they do cost money, just to see if they work.  If the projects fail, the money is lost.  This isn’t the only cost the government faces for administration and enforcement.  Time is valuable for the government, however sometimes it comes at a lofty price.  Time goes by very fast, and the government cannot use all their time to discuss and decide on what experiments to do or enforcements should be put into effect.  It also costs energy, all the hours of research and going places to study and experiment, it takes energy and will power to keep going.  If a certain project fails, it could cost the government employees.  The government takes a very large risk in the first place to try and gain or destroy a certain rule or enforcement.  The risk includes all of the above finance, time, energy, and employment.

            The congress should definitely decide on what constitutes over-regulation.  They should get together in a meeting, discuss the pros and cons of each regulation, make suggestions, meet again days later, and make a final decision.

            There is not enough regulation today.  The government should protect the people and the rights of all.  The government should be closer to the general public all the time.  Then they know what goes on and what changes they can make to better communities.  Their work is appreciated.  The government should be proud of what they do and want to do everything in their power to see that the people of this country are happy and safe. 

            The government is doing their job, preventing pollution, making people happy, seeing that entertainment is safe.  However, they need to step up their standards continually.  The world is changing fast, and they need to turn with it.  The government should step in and take control more.  The congress needs to be active in making decisions.  This takes effort from the people as well.  Do you want to be on that plane when a solid man takes the life of the pilot and controls the plane to its undesired destiny?

Colleen’s Questions:

Q1:   What is the only way to prevent hijackers from gaining control of an airplane according to the unknown author?

Answer:  The only way to prevent hijackers from gaining control of an airplane is to harden the cockpit, according to the unknown author.

Q2:      What are the arguments given by lobbyists for the Bells in favor of HR 1542 (Tauzin-Dingell Bill) and arguments given by their opponents against this legislation?
CQ May 5 p 1012

Answer:  The lobbyists for the Bells in favor argue that its members need regulatory relief to compete with cable television companies and other high-speed Internet providers.  Opponents contend that the Tauzin-Dingell bill would give the Bells a stranglehold on the high-speed Internet service and delay the development of next-generation Web technology.

Q3:      Why do small-business groups like HR 1831? From the small amount of information presented in your required reading, do you think the legislation is a good idea? Why?
CQ May 19 p. 1161

Answer:  Small-business groups would like HR 1831 because this bill would protect the businesses that discard less than 110 gallons of liquid waste or less than 200 pounds of solid, non hazardous waste at a superfund site.  This would prohibit the dumping of ordinary garbage in the future superfund site at a present landfill.  No, because it is not the small businesses that are creating the major pollution problems.  The major pollution problems are the enormous factories and textile plants that are burning so much fuel and energy.  The little businesses add up, however, this legislation should be molded more to fit the outrageous pollution factors of power plants.

Q4:      Give an argument in favor of government regulating activities such as roller blading and bungee jumping.
Governing, March 1993 p 23

Answer:  Organizations and clubs are being sued and getting into health problems with risky people.  People who are seeking for fun also seem to be seeking excuses when they injure themselves.  People should not be able to enjoy such sports as roller blading and bungee jumping unless they can accept injuries for their own acts.  These people are considered public nuisances and they should be kept off the streets.  They are endangering themselves as well as innocent people and spectators.

Q5:      Define a “burden hour.”
CQ ‘April 28 p. 896

Answer:  A burden hour is supposed to measure the time it takes to collect data and fill out federal forms, surveys and reports.

Q6:      Why was Connecticut Senator, Joseph Lieberman, concerned enough to vote against the nomination of Professor John Graham as administrator of the office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the current Bush administration?
CQ May 26 p 1229

Answer:  He was really concerned about Bush’s regulatory policies.  Two other panel Democrats voted against the nomination of John D. Graham.  Bieverman cited Graham’s past criticisms of clean-air and clean-water statutes and questioned whether he would weaken federal health, environmental and safety standards.

Q6a:     Graham is a proponent of “risk analysis.”  How is risk analysis defined on page 992 of the May 5, 2001 issue of Congressional Quarterly Weekly?

Answer:  Conservative lawmakers successfully used the Congressional Review Act for the first time ever in march to kill the ergonomics regulation.

Q6b:    Who was the first president to order federal agencies to weigh potential costs and benefits when writing a rule?
CQ May5 2001 p 993

Answer:  Bill Clinton was the first president to order federal agencies to weigh potential costs and benefits when writing a rule.

Q6:      How much would compliance with OSHA’s regulations to limit injuries or disabilities from performing repetitive tasks cost according to an estimate by business groups as reported in the 2000 CQ Almanac?   What was the response of OSHA and Labor Department officials? 
CQAlmanac p 2-111

Answer:  The regulations would require that 1.6 millions employers set up programs to limit the repetitive motion injuries of about 27 million workers.  Another 300,000 businesses each year would have to act the first time a worker suffered a job-related repetitive stress disorder that required medical treatment, reassignment to light duty or time off.  OSHA and Labor Department officials, meanwhile, say the rule is intended to be flexible and would not require most companies to act.  While costing employers $4.2 billion annually, the rule would also save them $9 billion a year in lost productivity.

Q7:      What was the makeup of the “iron triangle” during the Reagan years and what do environmentalists and consumer activists foresee as its composition in the current Bush administration?
CQ May 5 p 990

Answer:  The makeup of the “iron triangle” was an unbreakable alliance among Democratic committee chairmen, agency officials, and interest groups that worked in concert to achieve common goals, whether it was funding for special projects or protecting specific constituencies.  Now it appears the iron triangle will be composed of industry officials, the White House and GOP committee chairmen.

Q8:      Name 5 actions of the Bush administration that have drawn criticism from Environmentalists.
CQ May 5, 2001  p. 994 and 995

Answer:  The groups had used and advertising campaign that features bucolic images of forests and wildlife, then shift jarringly to pictures of trees falling to the sound of chainsaws.  The ad effort, by the Heritage Forests Campaign called on Bush to strongly defend the rules of destroying national forests.  The regulations on wildlife issues, such as reintroducing grizzly bears to areas in Idaho and Montana are still being criticized.  In another suit, business groups are seeking to kill more stringent reporting requirements for lead emissions.  In this case, Bush required more businesses to report their lead emissions.  Environmental Defense and the Natural Resources Defense Council are joining as many suits as possible in defense of the Clinton rules.  The groups say they will fight hard to prevent settlements.

Q9:      What did the executive order issued by Ronald Reagan in 1981 and still in effect today, require agencies to prove before new regulations were enacted? How did the Democratic House counter in 1986?
CQ May 5, 2001  p. 995

Answer:  The executive order enacted in 1981 and still in effect today required agencies to prove that a regulation’s benefits would “outweigh:  its costs—a standard Democrats said was often tough to prove.  In 1986, the Democratic House forced a showdown by deleting funds for OMB’s regulatory division from the fiscal 1987 budget.  Lawmakers restored the money after OMB director Miller and Wendy Lee Gramm agreed to make the rule-making process more transparent by disclosing White House documents related to regulatory decisions.

Q10:    On the average, how long does it take to build an airport?  A highway?
CQ May 19, 2001 p 1163

Answer:  “The average time for a highway, I believe, is 12 years, [and] the average time for an airport is 15, and that’s just unacceptable.”  House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Don Young, R-Alaska, said in a recent review.

Q11:    Discuss the pros and cons of licensing requirements.
Wall Street Journal June 18, 1993

Answer:  The rules of the licensing board can end up hurting more people than they protect.  People, children in particular under the age of 17 or 18 try to start just a small business to show independence, responsibility, as well as to serve others.  They aren’t out to get others money and strike it big as children.  Many people shut them down because they don’t have to appropriate operating and owning license.  These people mainly want to better themselves.  Monique Landers, a victim of these rules says, “If more kids knew they could grow up to be their own boss they would be more responsible and cause less trouble.”  This is true, many rebellious kids are defiant because they don’t like listening to others, they like being independent and making their own decisions.  Then there are the people in the world who would take advantage of these rules if they were weak.  Trying to make billions as adults and doing it without licenses and all the paperwork.  These rules protect the US from these wrongdoers.

Q12:    Discuss the pros and cons of master plans and planning departments.
Taking A Stand On Regulation  pp 80-82

Answer:  People can be productive only if they can be certain that the rules will not be changed and the carpet won’t be pulled out from under them during their task or job.  The existence of consistent plans lets everyone know the rules of the game and what is expected and then manufacturers, builders; investors can all confidently and positively.  However, the whole point of planning commissions and master plans is to look ahead and prevent damage.  Some specific communities have given too much power to planning departments and other representative groups in recent years.  Many people believe planning is an improvement over a free market, but that isn’t always the case.  The trade-offs are great to be considered an “improvement”.

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